2023 Budget - Engineering, Construction and Public Works

Information and condition of infrastructure assets is collected and used as input to the capital program development. Work of this nature is ongoing, allowing staff to utilize the information to create proactive maintenance programs necessary to minimize life cycle costs of the sewer and road systems. 

Through the Capital Asset Management Plan (CAMP) approach, the coordination of capital projects allows the City's infrastructure renewal process to make the best use of capital dollars. 

The next phase of the streetlight LED switch over program will evaluate the City's decorative fixtures to determine best method of retrofitting these fixtures to LED. 

Staff in the division deliver the City's engineering related capital program through in-house design and contract administration as well as the management of consulting engineers working at various stages of project planning and construction.

An overhead rate is charged on labour expended for the repair and maintenance of vehicles and equipment for all client groups.

This rate is set to achieve the full recovery of Fleet Administration costs. The procurement of all Infrastructure & Planning vehicles and/or equipment is undertaken within this activity and assistance is provided to those client groups.

City Council, at its meeting of November 17, 2008, approved the Winter Service Operations Policy and Winter Service Operations
Standards contained within Report USPW08-013. 

The 2023 Budget allows for continued Winter Trail maintenance of all hard surfaced trails and multi-use paths and bike lanes. 

The 2023 snow clearing level of service will be the same as the 2022 level of service for the Downtown and Village BIA areas. The
2023 budget includes an increase for winter material costs in order to achieve a balance with market increases to winter material
supply and delivery and reflects the assumption of new subdivisions.

Performance Data

Inclement weather creates the need for road and sidewalk plowing, sanding and salting as well as removal of snow windrows in key areas of the City when amounts exceed the standards. Public Works provides service 24 hours per day, 7 days per week. 

Depending upon storm conditions, 18 plow routes, two graders, nine sidewalk plow routes and several loaders may be
simultaneously deployed for winter control activities. 

In accordance with the amended Ontario Reg.239/02, Winter Control activities also include funds for legislated winter road patrol
to begin in October of each year and end in April of the following year. Also included, are the costs for weather service provision and support of GPS technology for our winter control units.

Parks and Forestry preserves and reconstructs native habitat (including trees) on parkland, and other open space municipal lands, and provides guidance and encouragement to private landowners for the protection of these natural resources. We beautify the city with horticultural displays throughout municipal parklands and the planting and care of flower and shrub beds at municipal facilities. The Parks and Forestry team also works to eliminate noxious weeds and reduce the adult mosquito population through contracted services. 

The 2023 horticulture program is proposed to add one garden as an increase to the 2022 level of service. In 2023 we will see the continuation of the Emerald Ash Borer management program. 

In 2023, the five-year contract for the Goose Control program will be in year one and continue for the shores of Little Lake and Del Crary Park. 

In 2022, the city suffered substantial losses to our urban canopy as a result of the Derecho storm in May. Recovery and Remedial
actions are required to assess, prune and reforest our city's canopy. Our crew of 4 arborists have an ongoing backlog services requests from the years prior as well as over 7,000 service requests remaining after the initial storm response is  complete.

Repairs to pavement surfaces are provided in accordance with Ontario Regulation 239/02 (Minimum Maintenance Standards). Roadway shoulders are graded twice each year (spring/fall). Shoulder washouts are repaired on an ongoing basis. To control dust, calcium chloride is applied to select shoulders and unpaved roads in early summer. 

Street sweeping is undertaken on an regular basis to provide cleanliness and remove dirt and debris from gutters, affecting drainage. This maintenance function also protects storm water quality by removing debris prior to it entering the storm water or surface water systems. 

Minimum maintenance standards for the Province regulate annual inspection of sidewalks for compliance along with remedial actions to respond to deficiencies. 

Minor repairs to bridges are provided on an emergency basis and the cleaning of bridge expansion joints, drains, seats and structural components are provided each spring. 

Guard rails along the right-of-way, at approaches to bridges, adjacent to creeks, along roadway curves and at areas of significant elevation change, are repaired on an ongoing basis as needed. Handrails, to assist pedestrian access, are repaired on an
ongoing basis as required. 

Much of the surface drainage work is done in response to emergencies along with minor maintenance related to roadside drainage swales and ditches.

This activity also includes the contract payments to the DBIA of $133,500 per year. These funds provide for litter collection, general cleaning on a 24 hour a day, 7 day a week basis, and the watering of hanging flower baskets, etc. 

For 2023, the sidewalk washing schedule will remain the same as in previous years for the DBIA (on a weekly cycle). Street sweeping is done three times each week, on Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday, from May to October.

Public Works provides operational services seven days a week, on a 24-hour basis. Emergency responses or repairs are provided as needed. 

Services are provided to a wide internal client group including Transit, Traffic, Parking, Waste Management, Engineering, Construction and Public Works, and Facilities Management. 

Construction and maintenance activities on the municipal Right of Way are provided for outside clients including Peterborough
Utilities Services Incorporated, Cogeco, Bell and others. Operation and maintenance activities for the client group are recovered at 100% of the cost.